Many households utilize appliances to perform mundane or time consuming tasks, which allows individuals to focus on other daily tasks requiring more attention. Such appliances include washing machines, dryers, dishwashers, microwaves, etc. However, while these appliances are particularly helpful in performing tasks, once operation begins the individual often losses track of the operation cycle of the appliance and the appliance goes unused for lengthy periods of time. With respect to dryers, this can be particularly problematic with clothes requiring hanging, after drying, to avoid wrinkling. With respect to washing machines, wet cloths left in washing machines over a prolonged period, particularly in tropical conditions, are susceptible to souring, mold and mildew. Still further, this can be particularly problematic when your relaying on completion of a washer or dryer in order to utilize the cloths therein for an appointment or otherwise. In any regards, while these appliances often include visual and/or audible indicators for indicating completion of an operation cycle, often these appliances are remotely located or disposed in areas that prevents them from being noticed, such as a basement or otherwise.
Some prior methods and devices have responded by providing indicators for monitoring and alerting a user of the status of an appliance. However, these devices are typically complex in design, costly, require specially trained technician for installation, are impractical or are just simply inoperable. For example, some systems require modification of the electrical system of the appliance to install monitoring and alert system. However, typically, alterations to appliances void any warrantee that the appliance may have. Also, these systems do not work on all appliances and often generate false completion signals as a result of short interruptions between operation cycle segments. Other systems have utilized plug-in devices, which monitors current to the appliance. However, again, during interruption between cycle segments the lack of current, or low current, creates a false completion signal. Alternatively, some individuals have attempted to track the operation cycle of an appliance through a timing device. However, many new appliances have variable operation time based upon operation necessities. For example, newer dryers periodically monitor moisture content within the dryer to determine completion of drying. As such, drying time continually changes not only between loads, but also during the drying cycle.
Other attempts have provided systems for monitoring appliance vibration and remotely indicating the completion of an appliance cycle. However, it has been discovered that these systems appear inoperable for lack of power, false completion readings and simply lack enablement. For example, it appears that these devices lack sufficient electrical power for monitoring operation cycle and generating wireless signals, without somehow electrically connecting the device to an AC supply. Also, as often appliances are inadvertently banged, or knocked by other individuals or other appliances, these systems would appear to generate false operation signals. More so, they are not capable of working on new ‘quiet’ modeled appliances, such as ‘quiet washers’ and ‘quiet dryers’, which operated with substantially lower vibration and noise. Finally, such systems do not appear to be in production and do not provide means for overcoming the aforementioned and other inherent problems.
In view of the foregoing, there is a need for improved methods and devices for monitoring operational cycles of one or more appliances or machines, such as washers, dryers, or otherwise, and remotely indicating when such operating cycles have terminated.